By the time they found out that they had been targeted
by a national political action committee opposed to taxes and government
regulation, it wastoo late. The robocalls
and misinformation were relentless, distributed by the influential conservative
committee funded by Charles and David Koch.

Plainfield needed to raise $39 million to replace a
26-year-old library that no longer meets community needs. Thanks to the Koch
brothers’ onslaught, the community of slightly fewer than 40,000 failed on
March 15 to pass a bond issue and a property tax increase.

St. Louisans are facing a similar campaign regarding the
city’s 1 percent earnings tax. Local financier and tax opponentRex Sinquefieldis spending $2 million to fight the tax, which raises about $160 million a year
and accounts for a third of the city’s general revenue budget.

Voters who will decide on April 5 whether to continue
the earnings tax should keep the Plainfield experience in mind. Taking away tax
money needed to fund services — whether libraries, police or fire districts —
cripples communities and hurts the people who live there. READ MORE @

Bill to change library funding halted

A bill that would change funding for public libraries in
Kansas has stalled after library advocates spoke against it.